Christmas is only days away but surely, you have done the shopping, wrapping and delivering? Well, let’s pretend that you have. It’s going to be relatively chilly in Phoenix the next couple days — why not hunker down and bake some cookie treats for your best friend, the dog?

I love baking for the dog and her pals. They are a non-judgmental, hungry, even greedy group of gourmets who like everything that gets put in front of them, foodwise.

Dog cookies galore

In the morning, I walk into the kitchen, where there are tubs of dog cookies and I’m not tempted by any of these ‘treats”. I give these cookies away at cookie exchanges and everyone is happy to walk away with a box of goodies that won’t affect their waistline. I also give away the cookies to neighbors and colleagues and it’s a great way to start up a conversation. Something along the lines of “You have dogs? I have dogs. Now, can you get me that report before I expire from old age? Happy holidays!”

But the biggest thing of all: baking for the dog gets me into the holiday spirit of giving. Not the type of giving that happens because you feel compelled to go out and buy a gift but the better kind of giving: the simple act of doing something out of love in your heart and knowing that it will bring a smile to another person (or creature). The joy that comes from that really lightens my heart, especially in these darker times.

Dog-cookie recipes

And without further woo-woo ado, here are this year’s dog cookie recipes. I made them all and I cheerfully comment on all of them:

• Alexander’s Peanut Butter Dog Biscuit Treats: the first I ever baked and I still love them. This year, I used small heart-shaped cookie cutters on these and they turned out very sweet!
• Calvin’s Christmas Cookies: Very festive — somehow it always reminds me of the Flinstones. Just absolutely push down those cranberries and pumpkin seeds into the dough or they will plop out once baking is done.
• Homemade Dog Treats — I thought the peanut-butter/bacon glaze for the treats would be the bomb but then I had doubts about frying that much bacon to get the bacon fat for the glaze. And I thought about how bacon fat isn’t good for the dog, so I opted for the coconut oil option. Freeze the treats to get the glaze to really stick. Next year, I think I am just going to smear some peanut butter on the cookie and forgo the glaze.

And that’s the joy of making cookies for dogs!

Happy holidays everyone!

One of our favorite holiday traditions is baking – baking for the dogs, of course.

Baking for dogs is one of the most stressless things you will do during the holiday because dogs, well, they are just so good natured, and non-disciminating when it comes to food.

Why bake treats for dogs?

So many advantages to baking for dogs: No being-in-the-kitchen extra weight gain for you – unless you can’t keep your hands off the peanut butter and bacon num-nums. Also, it’s nice to know exactly what is going into your dog’s food. And if you have leftover ingredients, you could bake extra goodie for some shelter dogs.

Dog-treat holiday recipes

Here’s a list of holiday dog treats to get you baking in the kitchen:

• Fancy treats:  Here’s a great recipe for cookies studded with cranberries and pumpkin seeds for a festive look. Of course, dogs aren’t able  to see the entire color spectrum but why not make the cookies a little fancy?
• Healthy snacks: Mint has been known to help with dog’s digestion and breath. And these low-calorie snacks offer a nice apple twist.

• Snacks to share with the humans: This dog-biscuit recipe that features cornmeal and a nice, grainy texture that humans in the house like as well.
• For the vegetarian dogs: Check out this vet approved and dog tested recipe. that has only five simple ingredients.

• For the bacon fiends: This comes from The Kitchn, one of my favorite sites. This bacon-treat recipe uses bacon fat to drive your dogs wild and make your hosue smell good.
• Pumpkin anyone? We like pumpkin in our house. For dogs, pumpkin is a delicious, nutritious treat that provides a great way to sneak fiber into diets. Check out a peanut-butter and pumpkin version.
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  For friends who observe Hanukkah – Use blue and white icing instead of green and red, suggests dogtreaticing.com. They have some other nifty ideas for this holiday.

• Minimalists: We are definitely trying this one this weekend. It only has five ingredients and one of them is beef broth. The dog will love this one!
• Store bought: Not in the mood to bake? That’s OK, the dog will forgive you. Here’s some of our favorite local dog-treat folks:
  • Happy Tails Barkery
  • Smelly Dog

Bone apetit everyone!